Henry Heerup
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Henry Heerup (4 November 1907 – 30 May 1993) was a Danish
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
, graphic artist and
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. Heerup was an extremely versatile artist. His works of art included paintings, lithographs, stone sculptures, linoleum cuts and drawings as well as objects which he composed from scrap.


Biography

Henry Heerup was born in
Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
. Heerup was admitted to the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...
in 1926 and graduated in 1932. He studied painting under Axel Jørgensen and Einar Nielsen at the
Royal Danish Academy of Art The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...
. He also studied
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
under
Einar Utzon-Frank Aksel (Axel) Einar (Ejnar) Utzon-Frank (30 March 1888 – 15 July 1955) was a Danish sculptor and professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. During his lifetime, he produced many sculptures, some of which stand as public monuments. U ...
. He painted ''The Old Oak in Wolfvalley'' (1924) whichj was his first oil painting. During the 1930s he developed his trash sculptures. During the 1940s he became a member of
Corner Corner may refer to: People *Corner (surname) *House of Cornaro, a noble Venetian family (''Corner'' in Venetian dialect) Places *Corner, Alabama, a community in the United States *Corner Inlet, Victoria, Australia *Corner River, a tributary of ...
and Høst and exhibited with them. In 1949 he joined COBRA and participated in some of their exhibitions. He developed an international reputation exhibiting across Europe and North America. From 1946 until his death in 1993, he maintained a studio and gallery on Kamstrupvej in
Rødovre Rødovre is a town in eastern Denmark, seat of the Rødovre Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. The town's population 1 January 2019 was 39,907, and in addition 145 persons had no fixed address, which made up a total of 40,052 in the municip ...
. Large parts of his art were created in the open in his garden. Heerup was appointed a Knight of the
Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...
in 1968. He was also awarded the
Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The Ec ...
and the
Thorvaldsen Medal The Thorvaldsen Medal (Danish: Thorvaldsens Medalje, Thorvaldsen Medaillen) is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest distinction within the visual arts. It ...
, and received the Storm, P. Grant, and NL Stevns Grants.
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is an art museum located on the shore of the Øresund Sound in Humlebæk, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the most visited art museum in Denmark, and has an extensive permanent collection of modern and cont ...
arranged a major retrospective in celebration of Heerup's art at the time of his sixtieth birthday in 1967. The film ''Et år med Henry'' (Jørgen Roos Film. 1967) by writer and director
Jens Jørgen Thorsen Jens Jørgen Thorsen (2 February 1932 Holstebro – 15 November 2000) was a Danish artist, director, and jazz musician whose works sometimes created controversy. Thorsen began his artistic career attending periodically the Royal Danish Acade ...
focused on Henry Heerup's garden and studio in Rødovre. On his death in 1993, Henry Heerup was interred in the
Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...
in the
Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...
section of
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.


Heerup Museum

In 1958, Heerup married conservator and painter Marion Brock. After Heerup's death, his widow donated their estate to Rødovre Municipality in 1995. Heerup Museum was designed by the architect Bernd Kjelland as an extension to the old farm Rødovregaard in
Rødovre Rødovre is a town in eastern Denmark, seat of the Rødovre Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. The town's population 1 January 2019 was 39,907, and in addition 145 persons had no fixed address, which made up a total of 40,052 in the municip ...
. The mainstay of the museum is a donation of Heerup's works. The museum opened on May 1, 2000.


See also

*
List of Danish painters This is a list of Danish painters who were born in or whose creative production is associated with Denmark: A * Axel Aabrink (1887–1965) * Jørgen Aabye (1868–1959) * Carl Frederik Aagaard (1833–1895) * Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard (1 ...


References


Other sources

*Allan Daugaard Hansen (1996) ''Heerup : 1907-1993 : en billedkunstners livshistorie fortalt af en ven'' (Copenhagen: Borgen)


External links


Heerup Museum website
1907 births 1993 deaths People from Frederiksberg Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Abstract painters 20th-century Danish sculptors Male sculptors 20th-century Danish painters Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists {{Denmark-sculptor-stub